Time Out says

3 out of 5 stars

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Users say
(4)

3 out of 5 stars

Time Out says

3 out of 5 stars

‘Would you like to sit by the window? It’s a good view,’ said the waiter. Except it was after dark and this stylish brasserie, sitting high up in the National Maritime Museum’s new multi-million pound Sammy Ofer Wing, is brightly lit and Greenwich park is not.

The reflection of ourselves, noses pressed against the glass, wasn’t as charming as the terrace and greenery beyond but the owners have at least given some thought to the interior decor. Polished concrete floors are a neutral base for the muted and appropriately marine blue of the linen and staff uniforms.

The restaurant claims to marry modern British fare with the heritage of its location – it lies 16 seconds west of the Prime Meridian – but provenance is highlighted only occasionally, with starters such as ‘Severn & Wye hot smoked salmon’, and mains simply split as being from England’s coastline, the farm or the field.

A well-selected charcuterie starter was accompanied by lightly pickled gherkins and caperberries and was more than enough for two to share. The restaurant has been open for eight weeks but is still tussling with portion size versus pricing.

An 8oz feather-blade steak was paired with a punchy chimichurri and excellent sides but, at £17.95, seemed pricy for a cheap cut.

At £16.95, a mean portion of mixed grilled fish featured only a small cube of salmon, two fillets of faintly muddy trout and a tangle of watercress. A mackerel fillet was MIA and our exceedingly charming waiter immediately tracked down the error, offering a complimentary dessert without hesitation. One wobbling pana cotta later and all was forgotten.

Such effortlessly gracious service is often the mark of a great restaurant in the making and the enthusiastic staff seem keen to improve their offering.

For now, they should focus on attracting more diners as, despite our countless walks through the park, the unmarked restaurant blends so easily into the museum as to have been invisible even to our trained eyes.

Food is great, location terrific and service is very friendly and unobtrusive.
However, the menu has recently been downgraded (in my view) to a more cafe style offering and there are plenty of restaurants doing this more cheaply in Greenwich.
While the service is very pleasant, it is not efficient and lunchtime meals can take 3-4 hours with huge gaps between courses. In my view either the kitchen or service is very understaffed and as a result we've stopped going as a family or with large groups of friends.
Their childrens menu is poor. A smaller portion of their sublime fish pie would be a fabulous addition.

This has to be the worst run restaurant I have ever dealt with in London. They took a booking for my wife and I and various parents for boxing day through their online system. When we went on boxing day they were closed and we were left trying to find somewhere open at the last minute. It is appalling that they didn't call to say that they they couldn't fulfill the reservation, they had both my email address and phone number. When I contacted them to complain they were equally sloppy. All I got was some sophistry on a voicemail and when I returned the call my message wasn't passed on and my call wasn't returned as I had requested. Really pathetic. The Rivington is very well run and is consistently fantastic, I would recommend there or the Spread Eagle as an alternative.

They do really nice food here and the service was friendly but not too obtrusive. There was a really nice buzz in the room and could imagine it would be great on a friday or saturday night (we went on a wednesday).